Thicker Than Water
by Luna Stiles
Summary: Whose Line crossover. Ryan Stiles is turned by a minion, but something's wrong... UPDATED AND CHAP'S EDITED
1. Bye bye heartbeat

PLEASE READ THIS!!!  
  
I've done a chapter-re-do-type-deal. Now they are all reletively the same length. If you've read it up to this point, and are looking for the new stuff, go to the last chap. if you haven't read up to now, well then start already! Don't forget to review! Please?  
  
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Thicker Than Water  
  
Author: Safire/Luna/R'misha  
  
Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.  
  
Author's Notes: Buffy and Whose Line is it Anyway? crossover(don't look at me like that. It ain't that peculiar). Post the Gift, so buffy ain't there. Starts witl Whose Line characters and Buffy characters enter in a bit.  
  
Rating: R overall. For now.  
  
Dedication: To Dan Patterson and Joss Whedon. Thanks for the great entertainment.  
  
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Drew Carey stood, staring and not wanting to believe. He could feel his heartbeat quicken more than it already had as he looked to the wound. He checked for a pulse again. None. Not a damn thing.  
  
Greg Proops watched as Drew checked. He eyed the double mark, trying to come up with a different soulotion than what he and Drew had seen. He shuddered as the image came back. They had thought it was just a normal fan. It was a fan, but not a normal one. Far from it.  
  
Now, Drew and Greg were alone in Drew's office, with the lifeless body of Ryan Stiles streched out on his desk. On Ryan's neck were two small wounds, blood flowing freely from each. It collected in a pool on the desk, absorbing into his shirt, and Ryan's features were growing visibly paler by the second as it left him. His lips were coated with his own blood, as he had begun to cough it up before he passed out in Greg's arms. His body was already cold at that point, and Drew had helped carry him into the empty studio of Whose Line is it Anyway? while Greg tried as hard as he could not to breakdown himself.  
  
They made eye contact and Drew nodded. They looked back to their friend and Greg touched the pool of blood with all four of his fingertips. It was like it had come out of a refridgerator, and had been there for days. It was thick and slimey, the blood of a dead person. Greg mentally kicked himself for thinking of Ryan as a dead person, even though that's what he was.  
  
Yet, niether of them noticed as Ryan's eyes flickered open. He looked to them both, moving only his eyes. He felt cold. Really cold. And wet. He was shocked by the looks on their faces. He had never seen anything like them. Too sad to call it sad. The last thing he remembered was being at a taping for Whose Line, and his memory stopped there. The looks were bugging the hell out of him, and he wondered why he was lying on a desk. He decided to find out.  
  
"Who died?" he muttered.  
  
Drew and Greg let out unbelievible yells and jumped back. The movement startled Ryan and he sat up abrubtly, looking from one to the other. They were staring at him like a ghost, and he found it a little irritating.  
  
"What the hell's wrong with you two?" No awnser. They continiued to stare. "What?"  
  
"You're... You're... alive..." Greg stuttered. Ryan raised his eyebrows at him.  
  
"Yea... I have been for forty-..." Ryan stopped as he saw the blood on Greg's hands, and the blood on the desk, and his shirt... He lifted his hand to his lips and they came back bloody as well. Ryan threw himself up off the desk and ran out the door, the other two at his heels.  
  
He hardly acknowleged the fact that his back did not make it's usual protest to the sprinting as he found the men's room. He ran to the nearest mirror and looked into it.  
  
Only to not see anything looking back.  
  
Drew and Greg ran up beside him. He saw them, but not himself. He opened his mouth a couple times before finding most of his voice.  
  
"What happened to me?" Ryan's voice was hoarse, and the others almost didn't hear him.  
  
Drew looked to his friend's face, which was still staring at the mirror. "There was someone out in the alley. Came up to us. Asked for an autograph. He grabbed you and... And I'm pretty sure he bit you. Aw hell, I *know* he bit you. On your neck..."  
  
Ryan put his hand to the wound. It came back with still more blood. "Can you help clean me off? I'd do it alone but I can't tell were it is." He turned on the tap in front of him. The cold water almost hurt, and he turned on the hot. It heated to unbearable for a person's skin but it felt good to Ryan. Greg grabbed some paper towels and began to wipe off Ryan's face and neck, moving carefully around the wound, as Drew went to Ryan's dressing room to get clean clothes.  
  
Greg accidentally touched the holes and Ryan hissed in pain and suprise. Greg gasped.  
  
"What?" Ryan asked.  
  
"Open your mouth again."  
  
He did. Greg moved a finger down one of Ryan's teeth, which was twice as long as it had originally been, and needle-sharp. It's double on the other side was the same.  
  
"Ryan?"  
  
"Y-yea?"  
  
"I think I know what happened to you."  
  
"Really? I'm dying to find out."  
  
"You're already dead. Ry, I think... I think you're a vampire."  
  
Ryan let out a hollow, barking laugh and Drew returned carrying jeans and a t-shirt. He quickly grabbed them and went into one of the stalls.  
  
=A *vampire*? They don't exist. So how could I be one? But I can't see myself in the mirror... And I'm cold... The neck wounds... Somebody came up and bit me... And no pulse. Now this is just wonderful. Why? Well, he musta been hungry, needed blood. Doesn't sound too bad... What the hell? What am I doing wanting blood? But if I'm a vampire, I'll need it. And stay out of the sun... That's not too bad. I never really liked the sun anyway. What am I gonna do? If I go up and bite someone's neck when I come out I'll purpously walk out in the sun. I don't want to kill anyone. Or change anyone. How would I get blood with out doing that? How long would I last? I wanna go home.=  
  
Ryan opened the door of the stall and Greg was sitting on the edge of the sink, still holding the bloody paper towels. Ryan felt his stomach growl as he looked at the red color. Drew was nowhere to be seen. Greg looked up at him.  
  
"Are you alright?"  
  
"I'm dead, Greg. Whatddya mean am I alright?"  
  
"Sorry." He bowed his head.  
  
"Were's Drew?"  
  
"He's getting his car and he's gonna take you home."  
  
"I can drive."  
  
"Ryan..."  
  
"Alright. Reflex. I hate people trying to baby me."  
  
"Ry, you're dead. Er, un-dead, whatever." He looked back up. "I thought you were gone, man... I mean, not come back gone... I didn't know what to do..."  
  
"Hey," Ryan said softly. He walked to Greg and pulled him into a hug. Greg returned the embrace and sighed. Ryan suddenly became aware that he didn't *need* to breathe.  
  
"You're so... *cold*."  
  
"Well, *you* feel like you have a fever. Relax. I'm not going anywere."  
  
"But I didn't know that. You're one of the best friends I've ever had. I almost passed out when I saw that. Couldn't though. I'd of dropped you." Greg found it ironic that *he* was the one being comforted. And by the person who had just died at that. He pulled away, and didn't meet Ryan's eyes as Drew came back into the bathroom.  
  
"C'mon, Ry. I'm taking you home."  
  
"Okay." He turned to Greg again. "Don't worry. I'm still here. I'll call you tomorrow once I've done a little research." Ryan left. Drew gave Greg a small smile before he followed.  
  
=====================================  
  
Ryan sat in the seat of Drew's car silently. The clouds covered the moon and it was dark, but he could see just fine. Night-vision, almost. But in color, so more like a flashlight. He was still hungry, but he didn't want to think about what he might be hungry for. He wasn't tired, either, but so full of energy that 'figety' was an understatement.  
  
Drew pulled up in Ryan's driveway and killed the engine. "Are you sure you don't want anyone to stay with you for tonight? Cause I will..."  
  
"Drew, I don't want to get into a big, full-blown argument with anybody right now. I have to think on this. If Greg's right, then... Well, I'd rather not think about it."  
  
"Ryan I don't want to leave you alone this way-"  
  
"It's not gonna hurt me if you do! How could I be worse of?"  
  
"I'm just worried! How could I not be? I just watched one of my best friends die right in front of me and then I saw him come back with fangs."  
  
"I'll call you tomorrow. See if I can't find a way to the studio." Ryan shut the door before he could respond.  
  
Drew drove away as Ryan reached the door. He fumbled for his keys a bit before realizing he had left them in the other clothes.  
  
"Damn! First I die and now I can't get into my own house to have a nice, quiet nervous breakdown." He walked around the back of the house to the paitio. The glass sliding door was unlocked. Well, it was *supposed* to be unlocked. Ryan glared at the door as if it was the door's fault this was happening to him. Then he lost it.  
  
Ryan's fist went through the glass as if it was paper. The shards flew everywhere they could. He continiued to hit the door until just the frame was left. It felt good, even with the small pieces embedded in his skin. He vaugely noticed he wasn't bleeding as he walked through the frame, not bothering to turn on the lights.  
  
Funny, he thought. Five minutes ago he could've jogged ten miles. Now, he didn't feel like he could even make it to his bedroom. He did make it though, and fell on the bed without undressing. He pulled a pillow under his head and within moments he was fast asleep.  
  
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It was like watching a movie. Ryan saw himself walking down a crowded street. It was night and the only source of light was the neon signs of various restaraunts. He couldn't hear anything except what seemed like thousands of heartbeats. He watched with growing curiousity as he entered a bar and ordered a beer, laughing at a joke the bartender made with dead, eyes.  
  
After a while, Ryan saw a pretty woman sit down beside him and they started to talk. He didn't know if she recognized him from the shows or what. She was a beautiful woman, with long black hair, wonderful figure and fabulous face. And for some reason, a nice neck.  
  
A nice neck? What's up with that?  
  
They left together, and she rode with him in his car. Ryan knew by now what was going to happen, and he could hear the woman's heartbeat even better than if he was listening through a stethascope. He could not hear his own. Then he remembered he was dead. A v...  
  
His thoughts were cut short and he watched himself lead the girl into his bedroom, kissing her all the while. He moaned in his sleep as he felt and saw everything that came after. And while he was enjoying most of it, and he couldn't escape the pleasure, he hated what he saw next.  
  
Ryan watched himself begin to kiss her neck, making the spot red as he brought blood to the surface. He was on the verge of realease when two fangs punctured her flesh. He felt himself come but the woman was thrashing around beneath him, the look on her face clearly saying 'pain'. But he didn't care and simply held her still as he finished feeding, draining the life out of her. He finally pulled back, and the woman held a horrified look at the blood on his lips.  
  
Ryan heard himself whisper, almost inaudibly, "I'm sorry."  
  
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Ryan quickly sat up in his bed, a loud yell issuing from his throat at what had awakened him. A sick feeling entered his stomach and he padded into the bathroom, hunching over the toilet as his stomach emtied.  
  
He sat with his back to the bathroom wall as he brought his knees to his chest and buried his face in his hands. He couldn't find it in him to cry as the dream repeated itself over and over in his mind. Whatever had made him this way was telling him how to feed, how to survive. But Ryan didn't want to listen. He wasn't going to do that to anyone. But if he wasn't, then he had to come up with an awnser to the hunger he had started feeling again.  
  
Time to do some legwork, he thought.  
  
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Greg paced the living room of his house as he waited for Colin to pick up the phone.  
  
"Hello?" Damn. He had been sleeping.  
  
"Colin?"  
  
"Greg. What what are you doing calling me this late? Hell, what're you doing calling me at all?"  
  
"It's Ryan."  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"He had a little bit of an accident tonight. I can't explain it over the phone. Could you meet me somewhere?"  
  
"Stay put, I'll come over there. Is he alright?"  
  
"I can't figure that out. Maybe. I can't be sure. I'll meet you here."  
  
"Alright. See ya."  
  
Greg hung up the phone and looked down at his clothes. Blood. Ryan's blood. He hadn't changed when he had gotten home. He didn't want to wake Jennifer. It was bad enought waking Colin but he *had* to know. But he couldn't keep them on. He decided to risk it.  
  
He felt like a theif sneeking around in his own bedroom. All he grabbed was some clean clothes and was out of there in less than a minute, making sure not to get anything else red-colored. Greg paused at the door as he watched Jennifer sleep, and thought about Ryan's family. What was this gonna do to them? He knew Pat would love Ryan no matter what, but he couldn't shrug off the feeling that she might leave him. Like he didn't see his family enough as it was.  
  
A knock on his front door caused himself to curse at himself for not changing quickly. Greg breathed deep as he set his hand on the door, knowing it was his concerned Canadian friend.  
  
===================================== 


	2. Different

======================  
  
Ryan smiled when he realized where he was. He had wandered directly into an old cemetary. The kind with old, rough headstones that were shaped like plain rectangles and crosses, names and dates unreadable from the wheathering. He fumbled in his pocket for a cigarette and lit it, leaning on a headstone as he took a long drag and filled his now dead lungs.  
  
It was then that something suddenly tackeled him full-force from behind.  
  
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Colin sat on Greg's couch staring blankly at the carpet. The owner of the couch stood next to him, patiently. Colin spoke.  
  
"Where is he?"  
  
"At home I expect. Least that's were Drew said he was taking him."  
  
"You left him alone?"  
  
"Wasn't really much else anyone could do. Except fpr being a little shocked and a little dead he was fine." Colin stared at him.  
  
"Will you change out of those clothes? I can't look at that."  
  
"Yea. Be right back."  
  
Greg dissapeared and Colin looked at the floor again. Ryan couldn't be a... They don't exist. But the blood on Greg kept pushing its way into the Canadian's mind, reminding him that it couldn't've come from anywhere else. Greg wouldn't lie about something so serious either. Unless it was a tastless and sick joke from the guys. But no, Greg was scared. He had to see if this was true.  
  
Greg finally came out changed.  
  
"I've gotta go see him," Colin said.  
  
"I'm coming too."  
  
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Ryan reflexivly doubled over, causing the person who had hit him to flip over his back and onto the grass. In the few seconds it took for the man to get back up, Ryan got a look at him.  
  
He was shorter than Ryan(but then, not many people aren't), and seemed to have a stockier build. It was hard to tell, because he wore a black leather duster. His hair was bleached. All in all, he made Ryan think of Billy Idol.  
  
At least, until he noticed the big axe in the man's hand. Then he was thinking of something else entirely.  
  
Ryan's thought's were broken as he recived a kick in the stomach... no, make that a *hard* kick in the stomach. He fell backwards onto the ground and looked up just in time to see that axe be raised up over the man's head.  
  
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"I thought you said he was at home!" Colin said angrily, stepping over the broken glass in Ryan's living room.  
  
"Well, I thought he was!" came Greg's reply. "Where could he be?"  
  
Colin shook his head. He didn't know. For once in his life he didn't know were Ryan was.  
  
And that scared the hell out of him. He didn't want to think of what happened to the glass, either.  
  
"C'mon, we gotta find him," he muttered going back out the door, Greg at his heels.  
  
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Ryan rolled as the axe came down. Luckily, it became lodged in the ground and not his neck. What sounded like a growl of frustration came from the other man, and Ryan nearly fainted as he saw what happened to his face.  
  
The forehead seemed to wrinkle up, forming a mass of rigdes, eyes turned from blue to a light amber, nose and mouth curling into a snarl.  
  
Teeth bared, showing two, sharp, fangs.  
  
Damn.  
  
Something inside Ryan screamed at him to run, get away from whatever this was, while something else screamed that the man wasn't dangerous. Not listening to either of them, Ryan looked up to the other man, no noticeing the fact that he was still lying on the ground.  
  
The other man misplaced his frustration and need to kill something as he noticed the confused look on Ryan's face. "What's wrong with you?" Great. An Englishman.  
  
Ryan busted out in bitter laughter. "Some guy tackles me and tries to chop my head off and his face goes all bumpy and *then* he asks what's wrong with me and what the fuck are you?!" The blond began laughing too as his face returned to normal.  
  
"And here I thought you were another vamp. Guess I was wrong."  
  
"Well, I was told that I was."  
  
"What's your name?"  
  
"Ryan."  
  
"I'm Spike. Someone told you you're a vampire?"  
  
"Yea. You still didn't tell me what you are."  
  
"*I'm* a vampire."  
  
======================  
  
"GREG, STOP!!"  
  
SCREECH.  
  
"Wha-"  
  
"There he is." Colin pointed out the window to the other side of the street. "Who's that other guy?"  
  
Ryan and Spike *were* walking down the sidewalk. Now they were staring at the car, it having stopped so suddenly. Colin climbed out.  
  
"Colin?" Ryan went to meet him. Colin threw his arms around the tall man, pinning Ryan's arms to his side. "Uh, gee Col. Miss me?"  
  
"Please tell me Greg lied," he mumbled.  
  
"Okay. Greg lied."  
  
"I did not." Greg bent down to look at his tires. "These *were* new, y'know." Colin released Ryan.  
  
"But they don't *exist*. You can't be."  
  
"Drew and Greg are witnesses. I've even got more proof than that. Let's see. I'm cold, I'm pretty sure I'm pale. Can't tell because I can't see myself in a mirror. Teeth..." Ryan opened his mouth, showing the two fangs. Colin reached up to touch them, but ended up cutting his finger on the sharp end. He heard Ryan's stomach growl as the blood began to seep out. "I feel hungry when I look at that..."  
  
"Here's a question." Colin pulled a napkin out of his pocket and put his finger in it. "Who's that?" He guestured to Spike, who was leaning on a fence, smoking a cigarette and watching. The axe he had tried to kill Ryan with was leaning beside him.  
  
"His name's Spike. He's, well... He says he's a vampire. But something's wrong. Hang on." Ryan made his way to the blond. Spike looked up as he approached.  
  
"Those your friends?"  
  
"Yea. I need you to show them your face. The other face."  
  
"Alright. Then we gotta find out what's wrong with you." Spike dropped his cigarette onto the ground and snuffed it out before picking up the axe and following Ryan to the others.  
  
"You're another vampire?" Greg looked Spike up and down, eyes lingering on the axe.  
  
"Well, I *know* I am, but something's different about your friend. I don't know what, but that's not what a vampire is."  
  
"Well, then what *is* a vampire?" Colin said.  
  
"This."  
  
Colin and Greg gasped as Spike's face changed to it's demonic state.  
  
"This is what a vampire looks like." Spike let his face soften. "There's something wrong with him."  
  
"He says he knows someone who can find out what it is. That's where he was taking me." Ryan looked to the other improvers.  
  
"Well then let's find out." Colin turned to Spike. "Where do we go? Car's faster."  
  
"I'll give directions."  
  
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"The Magic Box?" Colin looked at the small building. "What's that?"  
  
"It's a witchcraft shop," Spike replied.  
  
"That's real too?" asked Greg. Spike nodded as they followed him inside.  
  
The shop was actually pretty nice inside. Greg for one had expected it to be dark, and dingy, mysterious. Colin was just waiting to see for himself. Ryan didn't care one way or another.  
  
"Have a seat." Spike guestured to a table near the middle of the room. Setting the axe on the counter, he yelled into the backroom, "OI, WATCHER!!"  
  
A crash and a groan was heard before an older man in a suit with small wire glasses appeared, holding his hand to his head. "What do you want *now*, Spike?" Another Englishman.  
  
"Have you ever heard of something that seems like a vampire, but isn't what an actual vampire is?"  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
Spike sat down beside Ryan. "He has fangs, he's cold, bite marks, biting witnesses, pale, no blood and he can see in the dark. But he doesn't do the face thing or seems to want to kill."  
  
"Now I know what you're talking about. But I've only heard of it, I've never acctually seen it."  
  
"So I'm not the only one who's like this?" Ryan asked.  
  
"Yes, you are the only one. Just not the first. You see, there's--"  
  
The man was cut off as a door on the other side of the shop slammed open, making them all jump. Two young people, a man and a woman, her with red heir and him with dark brown, walked through, fighting. The woman was the first to speak... or yell.  
  
"I don't know where they are! I don't run the shop, Anya does! Yell at her about it!"  
  
"Will, Anya won't even *handle* rabbit ears! Hell, she jumps when when she sees a *picture*!"  
  
"Then find a girlfriend *without* rabbitphobia for goddess' sake!"  
  
"DO YOU MIND!?!?"  
  
Everyone jumped as Spike yelled at the two. The young man looked at him.  
  
"Shut up, Spike. This doesn't concern *you*," he spat. The woman smacked his arm.  
  
"Xander! That's not nice."  
  
"Indeed." The older man at the counter walked over to Ryan and looked in his eyes. "I'm Giles."  
  
"I'm Ryan."  
  
"Would it be possible to talk to you alone for a moment?"  
  
"Why?" Colin demamded.  
  
"Well, I need to find out what other vampire qualities he has. It'll only hurt a little bit, if at all."  
  
"Ryan..."  
  
Ryan turned to his best friend. "I'll be fine. Where to?" He stood up.  
  
"Well, give me a second." Giles dissappeared behind the counter, ducking down to dig on a shelf. He came back up holding a small cardboard box. "Spike, could you fill in Willow and Xander? Ryan, follow me."  
  
====================== 


	3. Dead again

=====================  
  
Giles led Ryan into the back room. Not the one behind the counter, but behind some stairs. It was quite large, and looked like a mini version of a gym, with a heavy bag, weights, and a wall to wall blue mat. Ryan briefly wondered just *what* he was going to have to do when he saw a rack on the wall with crossbows, swords, and other axes.  
  
His attention was brought back to the older man, who was sitting down on the mat with the small box beside him. "Please sit down."  
  
Ryan sat facing him. Giles opened the box and spilled the contents between them. There were several religious symbols, a bottle of holy water, and a double-edged knife. "What are those for?"  
  
"Vampires are burned by crosses, star of Davids, etc, and holy water is pretty much vampiric acid."  
  
"Don't really like the sound of that."  
  
"Hold out your hand." Ryan did as Giles picked up a cross, and dropped it right into his up-turned palm.  
  
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"Spike," the red-headed girl looked at Greg and Colin, "who are they? And who was that other person?"  
  
"The other person was Ryan, and this is..." Spike paused. "Sorry, I didn't get your names."  
  
"I'm Greg, he's Colin."  
  
"Oh, well my name's Willow, and that's Xander."  
  
Xander opened his mouth, but was cut off as they heard a yell echo through the shop.  
  
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"FUCK!!" Ryan dropped the pendant as quickly as he could. It was like someone had put a piece of white-hot lead on him.  
  
"Check for religous symbols. I don't think you need to try the others." Giles moved the others away. There was a raw, reddened imprint on Ryan's palm, and he was suprised to see it was smoking a bit. "It'll heal faster than you think. Vampires have advanced healing powers."  
  
"But you don't know if I'm a vampire."  
  
"Oh, you are, but I want to be sure."  
  
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It was a half an hour later when Giles came back into the main room to the others. His wrist was bandaged, and you could see the blood starting to show through. Colin imediately jumped out of his seat and made for the traning room, only to be stopped.  
  
"I want everyone to hear this. You can go in moment."  
  
Colin wondered if Ryan put the bandage there, while Spike's senses could smell Ryan on the ex-watcher.  
  
"As some of you know and some of you don't, there are two kinds of vampire. Masters and minions. Spike is a master, and I am very willing to bet that Ryan's vampire was a minion.  
  
"This is not the first time something like this has happened, but it's very rare. Every so often, a minon will take enough to kill their victim and turn them, but not enough for the demon to enter. Small margin of time in which that can happen, but here it did.  
  
"Ryan still has his soul, but he can't lose it. However, he has no demon, and his body is still making his own blood, but he still needs to feed, as you can tell by the hole in my wrist."  
  
"He bit you?" Xander stared at him.  
  
"I let him. And there is more. Every vampire that was created without a demon, has died within a day. The demon keeps the dead body fuctioning. Without it..." He didn't need to finish as a silence fell over the entire room.  
  
=====================  
  
Colin and Greg were in the training room about five seconds after Giles's explanation. Everyone but Willow was a little too stunned to say anything.  
  
"Isn't there something we could do? A spell or something? Summon a demon?" Spike looked around to her. Even he knew Willow was a good person, and for her to want to *help* a vampire that wouldn't rip her throat out was very Willow-like.  
  
Giles shook his head. "Summoning a vampire demon is impossible. Only known vampires have them."  
  
"I should've known what was wrong with him," Spike murmured. "One of Angelus's minions was the same way. God, I feel so... " He trailed off when he remembered what had happened.  
  
When Angelus had found out about the minion, Spike and Drusilla, his sire, had mentally paid for it until Drusilla had a vision of the soloution. The resulting vampire left them, but was killed by a slayer thirty years later.  
  
Spike did not say this to the others, but silently followed the two comedians, standing in the doorway, noting that the heavy bag was on it's side and about fifteen feet from it's original hanging position, and wondering if the soloution was something he could get away with.  
  
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Ryan sat against the wall with his head in his hands. He went through all this and he was *still* going to die.  
  
Again. There was something wrong with that, wasn't there?  
  
He was glad the other two were staying quiet for the time being. He didn't really want to talk about anything, and he was busy enjoying the stinging feeling in his side. Giles had run the double-edged knife over his skin while Ryan drank from his wrist, and he was shocked to find he *liked* it.  
  
It was then that Ryan became aware that Spike was lurking in the door. Which was another strange thing. He could smell the other vampire, a mixture of leather and cigarettes, booze and blood.  
  
"You guys should go."  
  
"Fat chance."  
  
"I mean it. You can't do anything for me, and Jen and Deb are probably worrying their asses off."  
  
"Ry, we aren't going to leave you."  
  
"If you don't, I'll force ya. Leave. If I'm gonna turn into a dustcloud, I'd rather not have you see it."  
  
"It's almost dawn." The three looked to Spike. "He won't be able to go with you anyway, he's stuck here." Spike didn't know why, but he thought he saw gratitude and relief in Ryan's eyes.  
  
Colin knew when he was beat. So did Greg. "Fine. Are you sure? Because we will stay."  
  
Ryan forced himself to nod.  
  
``````````````````````````````````````  
  
"Have you ever learned to fight?"  
  
Ryan raised his eyebrows. "I was pretty reckless as a kid, but I have a bad back, or at least I *did*, so fighting wasn't really something I got into."  
  
"Well," Spike looked him in the eyes, "vampires also have what's called preternatural strength. What makes us hard to kill. Your back problems are gone, and you won't ever have them again."  
  
"Yea, especially because I'm gonna die."  
  
"We'll see." He smirked as Ryan stared at him.  
  
"What d'you mean?"  
  
"Have you ever thought of what it would be like? To be a vampire? Even before all this?"  
  
"Well, I thought they didn't exist. I've heard stories and whatnot, but I didn't belive them."  
  
"Willow thought maybe we could help you with a spell, summon a demon or something." He moved to where Ryan was leaning on the wall, and reached a hand to pull his collar away, giving an unobstructed veiw of the faded bite. The sudden intake of unneeded breath was a clear sign that things were going right. "Spells can't fix this. He really did a number on you, didne?"  
  
"Apparently not. Since I'm all fucked up. I can't even remember it."  
  
"It's hard to remember. I didn't for a couple of days."  
  
"Is Willow that redheaded girl?"  
  
"Yep. She's a witch."  
  
"She's cute."  
  
"She's gay, too."  
  
"Here's a question," Ryan said, desperately trying to distract himself from how close Spike was, because he was liking it more than he should have. "How come you were trying to kill me if you thought I was another vampire?"  
  
"I can't hurt or kill anything living. About two years ago, to bloody goverment put this chip in my head that gives me really bad head pain if I try to. So I help these guys out for money and blood, plus I like fighting, and demons are a better challenge than humans. And since you're dead, I don't think I'd have a problem."  
  
Ryan was about to reply when he heard a growl and a sharp pain in the side of his neck. And he was quite sure he should not be pulling Spike closer or having an orgasm while this went on.  
  
But he did anyway.  
  
Spike on the other hand, was starting to get dizzy. Maybe it was because he hadn't had human blood for so long, but Ryan's was *strong*. What's more, he had no sooner pulled back from him than he suddenly found himself flat on his back with Ryan pulling his shirt away from his neck. Spike let him drink his fill, knowing that even without a demon Ryan would be more than eager to take from something that didn't mind it.  
  
The other vampire's blood easily tasted better than Giles's. Not that his was nasty or anything, but Ryan didn't have to hold back with Spike. Those were the last thoughts he could manage though, as everything went black soon after.  
  
Spike smiled to himself and wrapped his arms protectively around his unconcsious Childe, knowing that, chip or no chip, someone would definately get their throat ripped out if they tried to take him away.  
  
"What did you do?"  
  
Fuck.  
  
He didn't want to rip Willow's throat out.  
  
===================== 


	4. There's always a prophecy

=====================  
  
Niether Spike or Willow left Ryan's side, even right through midnight the next night.  
  
"Isn't he supposed to wake up?" Willow asked timidly.  
  
"He should be up already. I don't know why he's not." The older vampire inched closer and acctually ran a hand through Ryan's hair. He was so still it kind of freaked Willow out, then she reminded herself they were waiting for a new vampire to wake up. She wondered what he would look like with a demon face.  
  
She didn't have to wonder much longer.  
  
A small movement caught her eye, and it was Spike's bite closing up. Strangely interested, Willow watched Ryan's face turn for the first time. The weirdest thing, was he seemed more defined than Spike or any other vampire that she'd seen.  
  
Ryan moaned as he brought his arms over his head. Genuine shock came over Willow when Spike lay parrallel to him with a hand on his back and said, "Shhh..."  
  
"Why's there so many people here?" he murmured. "They're all talking... shouting."  
  
"It'll pass in a little bit. Everything's alright."  
  
"Make them shut up."  
  
`````````````````````````````````````  
  
Colin grabbed his head as the sound of someone screaming filled it.  
  
"Colin? Are you alright?"  
  
"Is someone screaming?"  
  
Deb shook her head warily as her husband groaned and clutched his head harder.  
  
`````````````````````````````````````  
  
"MOMMA!!"  
  
Pat hurried into her daughter's room to find the blond sitting up with a pillow folded over her head, wimpering.  
  
"Kenz, sweetie?"  
  
"Yelling... Who's yelling?"  
  
"No one, baby."  
  
"It... it sounds like Dad..."  
  
`````````````````````````````````````  
  
The tall vampire on the floor screamed... loudly. Spike and Willow screamed as well. It seemed to them Ryan was even screaming in their heads, coupled with the fact that he was right in front of them, just made it worse.  
  
`````````````````````````````````````  
  
Giles was sitting at home waiting for news on Ryan, since there was really no need for him to be there, when someone burst through the front door carrying a stack of papers. Over them he could just see Wesley Whyndm- Price's head, who didn't look like a watcher anymore(which he reminded himself that niether of them were now).  
  
"Can-can I help you?"  
  
"Yes," Wes said quickly. "Get these off me." Giles lowered the papers down to his desk. "All of them are written in Sumarian. I know it's strange, but they're translated into Norwiegien."  
  
"Norwiegien written in Sumarian. Never heard of that before."  
  
"I think it's some sort of prophecy, but I was never really good in Sumarian so I thought to come to you. I only got past the first part. which is 'Blod knytt'. Blood tied."  
  
"'Det to ganger vendt, som vÆrer bundet til vennen, datteren, stamfaren, og elskeren. Ved sinn, sjel, og kropp. Greatgrand -stamfar fører hans fall, og storartet stamfar fører ham rygger.  
  
"'Vennen, datteren, stamfaren og elskeren tegner hans sinn og hans sjelrygg til dimensjonen, mens storartet stamfar fører tilbake hans kropp med med hennes rå kjærlighet, og han temmer henne.'  
  
"'The twice-turned, bound to the friend, the daughter, the sire, and the lover. By mind, soul, and body. The greatgrand -sire shall bring his fall, and the grand-sire shall bring him back.  
  
"'The friend, the daughter, the sire and the lover will draw his mind and his soul back to the dimension, while the grand-sire brings back his body with with her raw love, and he will tame her'. Damn."  
  
"Would it mean bound by blood? And if so, who are they all?"  
  
The older man said nothing as he reached for the phone.  
  
`````````````````````````````````````  
  
His head finally cleared and Ryan looked to the others beside him. They were both unconcious. Father, he knew, was already dead, but he also knew the girl wasn't.  
  
And though he tried as hard as he could, he still couldn't hear her heartbeat, or feel a pulse. Her blood was still there, as he could smell it, and no marks, but her body was cold. Well, technically room temperature.  
  
He could hear a little voice in the back of his mind saying, 'She's already out. Why not have a little snack? A little witch would taste very good.' And a louder voice said, "No, wait until you know if she's acctually dead.'  
  
Since there was nothing he could do for her, Ryan turned his attention back to Father. His demon was at the surface and Ryan worried about checking him. He might not be allowed to touch him, and he would be punished if he did something that he wasn't allowed to.  
  
On that note, he sat back on his heels and waited for Father to wake up.  
  
===================== 


	5. Coherency is cool

=======================  
  
"So Rupert. Why did you call me here?" Angel fell onto Giles's couch and stared at the Englishman, while Wes reorganized the various papers on the desk.  
  
"Spike has a Childe."  
  
Angel straightend considerably. "How? What about the chip?"  
  
"Ryan was already dead, in fact, he was already a vampire. Spike said you had a minion like that. No demon."  
  
"So Spike gave him a demon. That's what I did. He would've known."  
  
"Anyway..." Giles's cleaned his glasses. "I figured you could help train Ryan, since he has a soul."  
  
"You should take him to Pylea," Wes spoke up. "Lorne can take you."  
  
"But he doesn't like it there." The vamp began to pace.  
  
"He doesn't have to stay. Just take you there and then go get you."  
  
"I want to meet... Ryan... first. Where is he?"  
  
`````````````````````````````````````````  
  
"C'mon, pet. Look at me."  
  
Ryan kept his gaze firmly focused on the floor beside him. Father had woken up, but the little redheaded girl was still motionless. The new vampire was afraid of getting punished. Fledglings wern't to look their elders-- especially their Sires--in the eye. It was disrespectful.  
  
Sighing, Spike thought. At least he knew he probably wouldn't get any trouble from Ryan, until he was trained anyway. But Spike wanted to see his Childe's gameface, which was still in place. He had only a glimpse of it when Ryan had woken up, and from what he could tell it was stunning. Maybe not to the human part of him, but it was the most beautiful thing his demon would ever see. Casting around his brain, he found the only soulution, but one he wasn't too eager to use.  
  
"Now."  
  
Immediately identifying the command, Ryan snapped his head up. Better to get beaten for disrespect than disobeying your Sire.  
  
He hoped.  
  
Spike gasped slightly. Ryan's face was not like any vampire's face he'd ever seen before. It seemed... well... Darker. Not color-wise, but *harder* sort of. The creases in his brow where deeper, and the whole face seemed just a little bit angrier. Ryan's eyes where different too.  
  
Instead of being amber or yellow, the irises were an iridecent blood red, with vertical pupils. Spike had never seen a vampire with eyes like that before.  
  
Ryan froze. There was a heartbeat. The little redheaded girl forced herself into a sitting position. What was her name? Oh yea. Willow.  
  
Not even bothering to tear his gaze from Ryan's eyes, Spike simply said, "You alright Red?"  
  
=She's alright= Ryan thought. =Just a little bewildered.=  
  
And with that they all heard the front door of the Magic Box open.  
  
`````````````````````````````````````````  
  
Blue, green, and red eyes roved over the three newcomers that entered with Giles. One of them acctually look reletively like Giles, but younger. The second, had an expressionless face, and as Ryan could easily smell (freaky), was yet another vampire, and if he was right, another of his and Spike's bloodline.  
  
The third was... well... he didn't know *what* the hell the thrid was. It would have been a man if it weren't green, had small red horns coming out of it's forehead, and had heavily red-rimmed eyes. Or if it wasn't wearing a flambouyant suit that made him even more noticable.  
  
The other vampire was the first to step twards Ryan, and cocked his head to the side as he looked over the fledgeling's face.  
  
"Open your mouth."  
  
Quickly sensing that this other vampire was higher in order, Ryan obeyed. Father had not told him to show his fangs.  
  
The elder vampire seemed to be inspecting his mouth, and Ryan fought the urge to bite down and drain every drop of borrowed blood the annoying bastard had in him. A sense of warning told him this was not a good idea.  
  
"Switch out of game face."  
  
"I-I don't know how."  
  
"It's like just shaking it off. Will your human face back on."  
  
Ryan did.  
  
=Oh lookie. Another gasp from an un-breathing creature.= Willow stifled a laugh as Ryan thought this, getting a strange look from every one but him. The other vampire rounded on Father.  
  
"YOU SIRED RYAN STILES?!"  
  
Spike smirked at the look on his grand-sire's face. Of course, the decidedly passive and bored look on his Childe's face was even better. He had expected that Ryan would be used to reactions like that after ten years of fame, but seeing it was more humerous than he thought it would be.  
  
He now foucused on Ryan's acctual face. It was the same as it had been before he had woken up, and the eyes where the origional blue-green with round pupils.  
  
Spike spoke. "Settle down Peaches. I know who he is and I really couldn't give less of a fuck. If you do, got brood somewhere else."  
  
`````````````````````````````````````````  
  
Brad Sherwood found it a little hard getting out of the door of the bar. He hadn't drank very much, but it was enough to get a buzz. The bartender knew him, so he could leave his car there until tomorrow. He was passing an alley when a voice called out to him in a Cockney accent.  
  
"He's one of us now."  
  
Brad looked around. "What?"  
  
"He belongs to my boy. I can feel him all through me." A dark-haired woman stepped out of the alley, her spacy eyes fixed somewhere in his general vicinity. "Daddy will not be happy with my Spikey." She started to walk twards him.  
  
Brad suddenly found himself backed against a cornner of a building. "Who are you?"  
  
"Call me Mummy," said the woman as her eyes turned yellow.  
  
=======================  
  
=Well that probably isn't good.=  
  
Ryan shifted uncomfortably in his spot on the Magic Box's counter. He felt like some part of his brain was worried. It was a weird feeling, but not a bad one. Though clearly, that part of him was telling him that something was wrong. He wasn't sure what, but with the worried-ness was something that felt like...  
  
Familiarity?  
  
``````````````````````````````````````  
  
Colin leaned his elbows on the kitchen table and sighed. Something was wrong, but he couldn't place it. Everything in his mind kept going back to Ryan, but his best friend was probably dust by now.  
  
Like that *wasn't* wrong.  
  
He hadn't told Deb about Ryan being... having been a vampire. She would most likely think he was insane. She was already on her toes from when he passed out, supposedly cold and without a heartbeat to top it off.  
  
So, he grabbed his keys.  
  
``````````````````````````````````````  
  
Brad looked down to his blood-covered clothes. It was probably because he was wet that he felt like someone had dropped him in a tub of ice inside a freezer that was located somewhere in the Alaskan mountains.  
  
"Please don't be too mad at big brother. It was for the best."  
  
Looking up, he saw a woman in the doorway, and he also saw that he was in a bedroom.  
  
He got off the bed, and walked twards her. "What is this?"  
  
"He's going to need help later. You're strong, and he trusts you. But you had to be stronger."  
  
"Who's gonna need help?"  
  
"The giraffe is such a magnificent creature, and now he's even better." The woman clapped and let out a childish giggle, bouncing up and down. "My first little grandbaby! I'm going to give him a big kiss when we see him."  
  
"Wha... Are you talking about Ryan?"  
  
She nodded. "My Spike's got him. But Daddy isn't going to like him very much. He won't like you either. He kicked out one of his babies because she was like you and Ryan."  
  
``````````````````````````````````````  
  
The green demon approached Ryan on the counter. "Hi. I'm Lorne," he said cheerfully, holding his hand out to shake.  
  
"Ryan," he replied. Ryan was suprised at how warm Lorne's hand felt; in fact, he didn't even want to let go because of it.  
  
"Yea I got that earlier. I didn't even know the big guy watched television."  
  
"The big guy?"  
  
"Angel, over there." He pointed to the other vamp.  
  
"Is he in the same line? Because he feels like it."  
  
"Yes. One of his Childer is Spike's Sire. So that would make him your great- grandsire."  
  
"Who's Father's Sire?"  
  
"Her name's Drusilla. She's kind of a nutcase with ESP. Last we heard of her she was in Italy. But, since that was a while ago, she *could* be right outside the door."  
  
"Can I ask what you are?"  
  
"I'm an empath demon."  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"Now I know why you're so good at Questions Only. My main ability is that if you sing, I'll be able to give you a reading."  
  
"I'm not singing."  
  
Lorne laughed. "Well, I'll sneak into your studio and listen to a Hoedown."  
  
================ 


End file.
